Reading: "But I crossed the border" - Inge Heym presents early poems by Stefan Heym
Invitation for Thursday, 15 May, 6 p.m., Karl-Schmidt-Rottluff-Gymnasium
Stefan Heym's literary beginnings, presented at an authentic place in his biography by his wife Inge Heym: The reading is being held on Thursday, 15 May at 6 pm at the Karl-Schmidt-Rottluff-Gymnasium on Kaßberg (Hohe Straße 25). Admission is free.
Inge Heym, Dr Ulrike Uhlig and Michael Müller from the International Stefan Heym Society will be looking back at the poems Heym wrote at the beginning of his writing career at the former Chemnitz state grammar school, which Stefan Heym attended from 1923 to 1931.
Based on the volume of poetry "Ich aber ging über die Grenze", published last year by C. Bertelsmann, they will embark on a literary search for clues: it begins during Heym's school years in Chemnitz and Berlin, continues through the National Socialists' seizure of power in 1933 and his flight from Germany to his years of exile in Czechoslovakia and the USA. During this time, the young Stefan Heym wrote around three hundred poems, an astonishing number of which were published, sometimes under a pseudonym, in the Weltbühne, Tage-Buch and other well-known newspapers and magazines. These were often political works critical of the times, which were later almost forgotten in the shadow of his great novels. Other, sometimes very personal poems were only rediscovered after his death.
The International Stefan Heym Society was founded in Chemnitz in 2009. It has members in Germany, Great Britain, Austria, Switzerland, Russia and the USA. Its aim is to preserve and cultivate the memory of Stefan Heym (1913-2001) and his literary work. The City of Chemnitz and representatives of Cambridge University Library, where the Stefan Heym Archive is located, and Chemnitz City Library are members of the board. Inge Heym, the writer's widow, is an honorary member of the society.
Further information: www.stefan-heym-gesellschaft.de and call 488-4117.